As of today (16^th December) the UK and Norwegian governments have announced the launch of a new, Green Industrial partnership that will see enhanced cooperation between the two countries across a range of sectors and initiatives, including future energy projects. 

Norway is already one of the UK’s most important (and longest standing) energy partners, being our biggest supplier of gas after the UK Continental Shelf, but the agreement, which both Governments hope to have signed by the spring of’25, aims to secure home-grown energy, protect bill payers and make Britain a Green ‘superpower’ by 2030.

The PM will be visiting a cross-border carbon transport and storage facility in Norway to see how the benefits of such projects could be adopted in the UK to reignite industrial centres and create new jobs.

This all comes just a few days after the Government signed first carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS) contracts in the UK. BP, and Norwegian company Equinor are playing a major role in the first projects, called the Northern Endurance Partnership and the Net Zero Teesside. The projects will deliver thousands of skilled jobs to the region, and Net Zero Teesside will provide up to 1 million homes with clean power from 2028.  

“This Green Industrial Partnership will allow us to seize the opportunities from a new era of clean energy, driving investment into the UK and boosting jobs both now and in the future. It will harness the UK’s unique potential to become a world-leader in carbon capture – from the North Sea to the coastal south – reigniting industrial heartlands and delivering on our Plan for Change. Our partnership with Norway will make the UK more energy secure, ensuring we are never again exposed to international energy price spikes and the whims of dictators like Putin.”

Keir Starmer – Prime Minister, UK

“We need cooperation, knowledge and innovation to better equip us to face the future. The partnership with the UK will be important to facilitate more green jobs both in Norway and the UK, and for advancing the green transition. We work closely with the UK in a wide range of areas. We have cooperated in the field of carbon capture and storage for more than 20 years, and further strengthening our cooperation with the UK will help us to cut emissions and create green jobs. It is important to show our partners what Norway can bring to the table in our joint efforts to achieve our common goals.”

Jonas Gahr Støre – Prime Minister, Norway